'Despicable' scammers preying on terminally ill people trying to end their lives 

Tom Curran said the majority of those who fell victim to the scam were elderly. File picture: PA

Sophisticated scams aimed at terminally ill people trying to end their own lives have come under fire from an assisted dying advocate whose picture was used as part of the con.

Tom Curran, who is the European coordinator for the right-to-die movement Exit International, said he is receiving several reports a month of people claiming to offer illegal barbiturates to end their suffering. Mr Curran was shocked to see his own picture used on one of the sites in a particularly disturbing case of identity theft.